Live whole baby octopus in Korea. Was just texture, almost no taste except the sesame oil and raw garlic served with it. The strange sensation was when it didn’t want to be swallowed and used its suction cups and beak to...

Are you saying it’s BAD manners to eat asparagus with a knife and fork? It’s almost always coated with butter or oil of some sort—there’s usually a (sometomes forgotten) reason for these...

You are making a mountain out of a molehill. To paraphrase what someone wrote in another thread, not one of us is an oil painting either.

), including habanero and chipotle. Also got Sriracha (who could do without it?) and just about any brand of sambal oelek, and Chinese hot oil (I prefer the kind in a jar with lots of macerated dried peppers included)

your face. To take a handful of fresh rasberries, crush them powerfully between your palms, pulverize them, pour scalding, 1st quality chocolate on our hands,over the crushed berries and smear it on your face, run to a hospital...

also try to have salad stuff (aka mesclun), grape tomatoes, good olives, hearts of palm or artichoke hearts, multicolored peppers — so I have the makings of a decent salad. And I try to keep a few other veggies on hand in...

garlic in oil doesn’t cut it in my mind.

, but they didn’t try to engage with us any more than necessary to allow us to really focus on one another. The proposal itself came at the end of the meal. My guy put his hand on the table and I went to hold it as is habit...

handy. Another nice place to order tea is Harney & Sons Teas (harneyteas.com). Their Palm Court Blend is definitely a “teatime” tea, and no one I have ever served it to has failed to ask where I got it. And I only put...

Tuscan Grill – Got their famous pork chop. It was tough and on the cold side. I have done better at home. Trattoria Toscana – Again, I ordered pork chops. These were served in a pool of oil that made me feel slightly...

was in the miang lao but my Thai cookbooks describe miang lao as comprised of dried shrimp, ground pork, palm sugar, fish sauce, tamarind, peanuts, ginger, shallots, garlic. And by the way, Wrayb brought miang too though he...

and Garvey — very green building) —- for their rice vermicelli with pickled cabbage which is not on the menu 5. A favorite sushi place I haven’t found yet 6. Pasta Cucina (Irvine) — for homemade pasta w/...

in the champagne) or Cabernet Sauvignon. My wife rated this meal as being in her all-time top 3. I was less generous, but it cracked the top 10. After this blow-out we vegged out for the next few days, although we did take in...

to describe your plan. Palm the money to the server when you get there, and then tip appropriately afterwards. This way, you know that the server is being paid properly for service above and beyond what is reasonable and that...

chip was nice too and added a needed salty element. Next was a salad of baby arugula, hearts of palm, haricot vert, tomatoes, with champagne lemon caper vinaigrette. This was decent. No where near the first course, but decent. It...